Sundays in My City - Homeward Bound in Seventeen Days: I Love You

Coastal Scene Near Pacifica, California

Well, really, it's hard to say where home is nowadays. I have spent about as much time in India as I have in California over the last three years.  If I could establish some sort of
residency, open a bank account, and get health insurance, I would actually live here most of the time and go home twice a year for two months.  Why? Mainly because it is affordable .. and I like this country. I have so many friends here, from youngsters to people my age, get very reasonable massage, can die here without spending a fortune for cremation and departure from this earth and they have some amazing, reasonably priced hospitals as well.  I can eat inexpensively, find someone to clean, cook, wash and iron for barely a dent
in my retirement income and participate in any number
of wonderful festivals that take place.  

The downside, of course, is that my three sons live in
California and so does my daughter-in-love, Laura, and my sweet granddaughter, Harper Ann,and the two granddogs.  In spite of Skype,not one of them seems predisposed to stay in touch with me that way - though, when I am in the U.S., my Indian friends always keep in touch  via those modalities or Viber, We Chat, etc.  I am a woman of the internet. Air fare is costly between the two countries, often $1000+ round trip and it is a long journey, sometimes 25 to 30 hours.

Jal Mahal, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India

I've been very pensive the last week or so, acknowledging
that I am aging and may not be able to continue to keep up this international travel forever.  Words for a poem came to mind so here it is.

I Love You

The days rush by too quickly,

Minutes go so fast.

Those we love pass through our lives, 

The treasured times don't last.

Do we pause to cherish them,

While we have the chance?

Or does God take them from us,

While we look askance?

Three simple words, "I love you,"

Are not so hard to say,

We may feel them very often,

But not say them day by day.

I often feel the anguish of a friend,

And his overwhelming pain,

At the death of one most cherished,

And words cannot be said again.

The world would be much happier,

If we'd take time, now and then,

To tell our loved ones how we feel,

From family to special friend.

Carmen Henesy

November 12, 2014

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Mellow Yellow Monday #161 - Jal Mahal, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India - Feb 20, 2012

I loved my eight days in Jaipur.  There were so many beautiful things
to see in this lovely part of India.  One that I thrilled at passing on my
frequent journeys about Jaipur was the splendid Jal Mahal or "water
palace" in the Man Sagar Lake.

This exquisite architecture is a combination of the Rajput and Mughal styles
that are frequent in the state of Rajasthan.  When the lake is full, only one
floor remains above water.  In the 18th century, Maharajah Jai Sing II
of Amber began restoration and englargement of the palace and lake.

Because of years of pollution, the lake which had once been home to
150 species of migratory birds, no longer attracted visits by beast or
fowl.  Work was done to rectify this and birds are returning in large
numbers to the ir former habitats.

At one time, tours were allowed to visit the Jal Mahal but have now
ceased as restoration efforts continue.

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